Dairy and Gluten Free diet Question?

Hello, I have been dairy and gluten free for 5 months because my son was spitting up and gassy. I went gluten and dairy because it was suggested by my pediatrician. I want to know how bad do you think it would be if just once a week I had a cheat meal? like a slice of pizza. I feel so restricted. I feel like if I can just have a cheat meal once a week I can continue breastfeeding. I have been breastfeeding for 6 months now. I think he is still sensitive because i had a cheat meal 2 weeks ago and he did spit up once just little bit. One pediatrician told me its not a big deal and once said i shouldn't do that. Whats everyones opinion? I also was very strict with my diet when I was pregnant. No bad foods whats so ever!

Re: Dairy and Gluten Free diet Question?

Your doc suggested that you eliminate dairy and gluten just because your baby was gassy and spitting up? That's pretty extreme, considering that spit-up and gassiness are entirely normal for young infants, and generally not a sign of intolerance to something in mom's diet.

At this point, I think it's actually a good idea to reintroduce one food group or the other into your diet. Have a big glass of milk or eat a bunch of bread, and then see if the baby has some sort of reaction. If not, consider your elimination diet over. If the baby has what appears to be a reaction (e.g. spitting up), then continue to eat the suspect food and see if the reaction is something that happens every time you have the food. If it is, what you do is up to you. You can go back to doing an elimination diet, or you can decide that the baby's reaction is not severe enough to warrant you starving yourself. IMO, in the vast majority of cases of suspected or known intolerances, there is no reason to do any sort of elimination diet whatsoever. These diets aren't neutral- they really take a toll on the moms! And therefore- again, IMO- they should be reserved for cases in which the baby is failing to thrive and has other symptoms of severe food allergies/intolerances.

Re: Dairy and Gluten Free diet Question?

Thanks! So many people have told me they thought my pediatrician was being little extreme.. My son was and is thriving.. He has always been at least in the 85th percentile..he has hit every milestone. I actually think he was gaining more weight when I was still eating gluten, but he was spitting up allot.. My son was still happy even when spitting up. I just feel like I am being weak now if I start eating gluten and dairy again.. Like I couldn't make this sacrifice for my son.. I don't know it's hard to explain. I feel like when we are nursing a child everything wrong with the child is our fault

Re: Dairy and Gluten Free diet Question?

My son was and is thriving.. He has always been at least in the 85th percentile..he has hit every milestone.

In that case, I see no reason for the eliminations. It would be a different story if your baby was not growing well, in discomfort, having a lot of allergy symptoms... But with a baby who is growing fast and well and is healthy and meeting milestones, I just don't see the rationale for putting mom through diet torture!

I actually think he was gaining more weight when I was still eating gluten, but he was spitting up allot..

Most breastfed babies gain weight fastest in the earliest days/weeks/months of breastfeeding. The rate of weight gain decreases with time, as the babies start putting more calories into things like reaching/rolling/kicking/squirming/crawling/sitting up/etc., and patching less on as fat.

Spitting up is generally caused not by things moms eat, but by the baby's sphincters being weak and undeveloped, just like all his other muscles. As time goes on, those sphincters get stronger and spitting up tends to decrease. Another big decrease in spitting up tends to come when a baby learns how to sit upright, because gravity helps keep the tummy contents down where they belong.

I just feel like I am being weak now if I start eating gluten and dairy again.. Like I couldn't make this sacrifice for my son.. I don't know it's hard to explain. I feel like when we are nursing a child everything wrong with the child is our fault

A lot of moms suffer from feelings like yours. Our culture promotes it- even before we get pregnant, we are bombarded with messages about how what we put in our mouths can affect our babies-to-be. Once we're pregnant, the messages get even more strident. No alcohol, not even a single drop- you'll give your baby fetal alcohol syndrome! No unpasteurized dairy products- listeriosis! Deli meats are full of nitrates, seafood is full of mercury, etc.! And the messages don't stop with childbirth. We continue to get harangued about how everything we eat can affect our babies, regardless of whether or not it actually does. We can't even take an aspirin without seeing the "If pregnant or breastfeeding, contact your doctor before using this product" label. And the end result? Woman are terrified into extreme diets, afraid that if they can't maintain the perfect diet they won't produce the "right" milk for their babies, or that they'll do them permanent harm... There are people who switch to formula because they can't take the pressure.

Not everything that your baby does or everything that happens to him is your fault. Put down that burden! Don't let yourself get forced into a false trade-off between having the perfect diet and having a healthy, happy baby.